15 of the World's Largest Companies to Add to Your Portfolio

It's generally good to have a mix of stocks in your portfolio, for diversification. You can diversify across industries, for example, and also by company size. Many people like to hold small-cap stocks, which can be defined as those with market capitalizations between around $300 million and $2 billion, because they're smaller and more nimble than their bigger counterparts.

It's a mistake, though, to assume that large-caps (with market values between around $10 billion to $200 billion) and mega-caps (valued at more than $200 billion) can't grow briskly. Plenty of them are still growing at respectable rates, and many pay meaningful and growing dividends, too.

Here are 15 of the world's largest companies that you might want to consider for berths in your portfolio.

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Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is a huge company, recently valued at more than $1.6 trillion. It needs little introduction, as most Americans are very familiar with much of its business since it's the leader in e-commerce. The scope of its operations isn't widely appreciated, though. Its cloud-computing Amazon Web Services (AWS) division, for example, is the top banana in cloud computing infrastructure. In the company's recently reported first-quarter earnings, management noted, "In just 15 years, AWS has become a $54 billion annual sales run rate business competing against the world’s largest technology companies, and its growth is accelerating -- up 32% year over year." On top of that, Amazon has and is developing other operations, some of which have great potential -- such as healthcare.

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Not many companies are bigger than Amazon, but Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is -- recently with a market value of $2.1 trillion. Part of the beauty of Apple's business is the interconnected ecosystem its customers enter, one that can be a hassle to leave, if you've been relying for a long time on your iPhone, iPad, Macbook, Apple Watch, Apple TV+, Apple Pay, and Apple Music, for example. The company is not done innovating, either, with some seeing huge growth possibilities in the healthcare arena, as one example. In the meantime, it's already growing briskly: Its second-quarter revenue surged 54% above prior-year levels. Many people are very bullish on Apple's future. The company pays a dividend, too, recently yielding 0.7% but having grown by an annual average growth rate of 10% over the past five years.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is another massive company with plenty of growth potential. Its market value was recently near $1.9 trillion. And in its most recent reported quarter, it posted revenue growth of 19% year over year, along with 31% operating income growth and 44% growth in net income, based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Those would be impressive numbers for a much smaller company. Microsoft has a lot going for it, starting with its ubiquitous Office 365 productivity software, which it's now selling on an annual subscription basis, creating dependable recurring revenue. It's also got the Windows operating system and the Azure cloud computing service, among many other assets. Microsoft even offers a dividend, recently yielding 0.9% but having grown by an annual average growth rate of 9% over the past five years.

Streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is far smaller than the previous giants, but it's much bigger than most other American companies, with its recent market value near $220 billion. It clearly has major and deep-pocketed competitors in Amazon's Prime Video; Hulu, owned by Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA); HBO, owned by AT&T (NYSE: T); Disney+; and now even Apple TV+; among others -- and it has reportedly lost some market share recently, per Ampere Analysis. But it remains top dog and has recently started generating free cash flow after years of reinvesting much of its income to further its growth.

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With a market value of $893 billion, social media giant Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) is another monster with a lot of growth potential remaining. Consider, for starters, that it owns Instagram -- not to mention WhatsApp and the Oculus virtual reality technology. Talk about impressive growth for a titan: Its first-quarter revenue surged 48% year over year, with net income soaring 94% -- almost doubling. My colleague Daniel Sparks referred to it as Facebook "obliterating" expectations. There's even more to like about Facebook, such as its quickly growing Marketplace and its growth potential in India.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Fans of Warren Buffett will be familiar with his company, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B), but many people are not. They would do well to get to know it, though, as it has grown by about 20% annually, on average, over more than 50 years -- a remarkable achievement. It recently boasted a market value near $645 billion, but still pays no dividend, as Buffett is looking for more productive ways to deploy the company's cash. It's a conglomerate, with substantial stock positions in companies such as Apple and Bank of America and gobs of subsidiaries, such as Benjamin Moore & Co., Brooks, International Dairy Queen, Johns Manville, Justin Brands, McLane Company, Business Wire, Clayton Homes, Forest River, Fruit of the Loom Companies, GEICO Auto Insurance, Nebraska Furniture Mart, NetJets, Pampered Chef, See's Candies, Shaw Industries, and the entire BNSF railroad. Berkshire can serve retirees well and younger investors, too, as its future remains very promising.

Google parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) sports a market value recently near $1.6 trillion, and it's still growing briskly, with its first-quarter revenue popping 34% over year-ago levels and net income surging 162%. While the company gets 71% of its revenue from "Google search and other," it also has other revenue streams, such as ads on YouTube. Meanwhile, it has more than $121 billion in cash and equivalents, with which it can buy or develop additional income streams.

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Electronic payment specialist Visa (NYSE: V), with a market value recently topping $500 billion, may not seem like an exciting grower, but it can serve investors very well. It has suffered in the pandemic, which curtailed a lot of shopping and transacting, but it's on its way back to prepandemic levels. In its last quarter, payments volume rose 11% over year-ago levels. Visa even offers a dividend, recently yielding 0.55% and having grown by an annual average growth rate of 18% over the past five years.

Many people are not familiar with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), so they'll likely be surprised to know that, with a recent market value of $550 billion, it's a major player in the world of semiconductor chips. Indeed, it's the largest contract manufacturer of chips, making them for the likes of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and other familiar names. The Financial Times has referred to it as "possibly the most important company in the world that few people have heard of." It's not only a huge company, but it's still growing well -- with first-quarter revenue up 25% over year-ago levels. Better still, Taiwan Semiconductor pays a dividend that recently yielded 1.5%, and it has increased that payout by an annual average of more than 10% over the past five years.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), with a market value recently near $440 billion, is a familiar name, but you might mainly know it for its consumer health division, which features lots of billion-dollar brands such as Listerine and Tylenol. But that division generates less than 20% of revenue, while the medical devices division generates about a quarter and the pharmaceutical division generates a little more than half. The company has been in the news more than usual lately, due to its successful COVID-19 vaccine, which has been good for business. First-quarter revenue was up 7.9% over year-ago levels. The company pays a dividend, too, recently yielding a solid 2.5%, and that payout has been upped by an annual average of 6% over the past five years.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

With a recent market value near $330 billion, Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) is a massive conglomerate that's likely to grow bigger over time. It features a wide variety of businesses, such Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel, resorts, cruises, vacations, ESPN, Hulu (partial ownership), and much more. A new addition to its lineup is the Disney+ streaming service, which signed up 10 million people on day one. Disney has long paid a dividend, too, though it suspended it when the pandemic struck. There's a good chance it will be reinstated, but if it isn't, that cash will likely be put to other productive uses.

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Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), with a recent market capitalization of about $330 billion, is a consumer products powerhouse, with lots of brands that each generate more than $1 billion annually, such as Tide, Crest, Charmin, Always, Oral-B, Olay, Gillette, Bounty, Gain, Dawn, Pampers, and Bounty, among others. The company is a longtime dividend payer, too, recently yielding 2.6%. That payout has been upped by an annual average of about 5% over the past five years, and has been increased annually for 64 consecutive years.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a healthcare titan, with a market value recently topping $390 billion. In its own words, it "offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.3 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide" -- and that's just in the U.S. (It also operates in South America.) In its last reported quarter, UnitedHealth grew its revenue by 9% year over year, while boosting earnings from operations by 35%. The company pays a dividend, too, and recently yielded 1.2%. It has increased its payout by a whopping annual average of about 20% over the past five years.

If you like dividend-paying stocks (and you should!), you may love Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), with its dividend recently yielding 4.3%. Its businesses offer wireless connectivity for smartphones and other devices, and it offers its Fios broadband services as well. The company, with a market capitalization of $245 billion and more than 130,000 employees, is likely to be a slow and steady grower, in part driven by the rollout of its 5G network.

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Recently sporting a market value of $360 billion, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is one of America's biggest and most respected banks, counting even Warren Buffett's company among its shareholders. In its first quarter, its diluted earnings per share more than doubled over year-ago levels, reflecting our recovering economy. Bank of America's dividend recently yielded 1.7%, and it has been increased by an annual average rate of 14% over the past three years.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

As you seek stocks for your portfolio, don't fail to consider the big and really big companies out there. While some may not grow briskly, many others are still posting double-digit growth rates, and they often pay growing dividends as well.

Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Selena Maranjian owns shares of AT&T, Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), Facebook, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Netflix, Procter & Gamble, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Visa, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth Group, and Verizon Communications and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920.0 calls on Amazon, long January 2023 $200.0 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), long January 2023 $57.5 calls on Intel, long March 2023 $120.0 calls on Apple, short January 2022 $1940.0 calls on Amazon, short January 2023 $200.0 puts on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), short January 2023 $57.5 puts on Intel, short June 2021 $240.0 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and short March 2023 $130.0 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.